Container treatment machines, particularly also when configured as filling machines for filling bottles or similar containers with a liquid filling material, are known in various embodiments, especially also of the rotary type having a rotor which can be driven in rotation about a vertical machine axis and on the circumference of which a plurality of container treatment positions are provided, e.g. in the form of filling positions comprising in each case at least one treatment head, for example in the form of a filling element for the controlled dispensing of the liquid filling material into the respective container, and comprising a container carrier for holding the respective container.
Particularly also in the case of filling machines of the rotary type, which can be used for a pressurized filling of the containers and in which the containers, after being handed over to a filling position, are firstly flushed with a suitable inert gas and then are preloaded to a filling pressure over an angle range of the rotational movement of the rotor that forms a loading zone, at least one loading zone cover is provided along said loading zone at the periphery of the rotor in such a way as not to rotate with the latter. This separates the loading zone from the surrounding environment of the filling machine so that splinters or shards of containers that break or burst as they are preloaded to the filling pressure cannot reach the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the loading zone cover also prevents in particular, by means of transverse ribs which are provided on the inner side of the cover facing towards the rotor, any shards from flying from one filling position to adjacent filling positions and thus inter alia also prevents splinters or shards from entering the open containers. To date, it has been extremely difficult to clean such a loading zone cover. This is also true with regard to the removal of product residues which reach the inner face of the loading zone cover for example in the event of a bursting of containers which are at least partially filled with the product, which (product residues) not only contaminate the angled inner faces of the loading zone cover but also cause mould to form after just a short period of time.